FACTORS AFFECTING NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN
*Dr. Maria Rasool, Dr. Saira Riasat Bhatti and Dr. Hira Mohi -Ud- Din
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the impact of maternal education, employment, and family size on nutritionalstatus ofchildren. Methods: It was case control study conducted at OPD of DHQ Teachiing Hospital Sargodha, from September 2015 to April 2017. Total 340 children (170 cases and 170 controls) with age range of six months to five years along with their mothers were included. Anthropometric measurements were plotted against WHO growth Charts. 170 wasted (<-2 SD) were matched with 170 controls (? -2 SD). Maternal education, employment and family size were compared between the cases and control. Confounding variables noted and dichotomized. Univariate analysis was carried out for factors under consideration i.e.; Maternal Education, employment and family size to study the association of each factor. Logistic regression analysis was applied to study the independent association. Results: Maternal education had significant association with growth parameters; OR of 1.32 with confidenceinterval of (CI= 1.1 to 1.623). Employment status of mothers had OR of 1.132 with insignificant confidence interval of (CI=0.725 to 1.768). Family size had OR of one with insignificant confidence interval (CI=0.8 -1.21). Association remained same after applying bivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Maternal education has definite and significant effect on nutritional status of children Thisis the key factor to be addressed for prevention or improvement of childhood malnutrition. For this it is imperative to launch sustainable programs at national and regional level to uplift women educational status to combat this ever increasing burden of malnutrition.
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